Osun poll: Tension rises

Tension has continued to rise between the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party over   Saturday’s governorship poll in Osun State.

On Sunday the APC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, alleged that President Goodluck Jonathan reportedly instructed security agencies to ensure victory for his party by all means.

The APC had   in a statement in which it claimed that the PDP was planning to massively rig the   governorship election in 10 Local Governments Areas in the   state, made veiled reference to Jonathan’s alleged instruction to the security agencies.

When The PUNCH asked him to expatiate on the “reported instruction” by the President, he simply replied, “This is based on credible information we received.”

The APC     listed Ife Central, Ife East, Ife North, Ife South, Olurunda   Iwo, Ifelodun, Osogbo, Odo Otin and Aiyedade as the LGAs the PDP wanted to win at all costs.

It   also claimed that the PDP was seeking a pliable person as a returning officer for the poll.

The APC claimed that three vice-chancellors had been penciled in for the job which would fetch whoever was chosen among them a N1bn compensation.

The party added   that   President Goodluck Jonathan had reportedly told the security agencies that he wanted victory for the PDP   at all costs.

It said, ‘’Nigerians from all walks of life, desirous of a free and fair election on Saturday, are reaching out to us with useful information on the plan by the desperate PDP to rig the forthcoming election. We are taking the information very seriously.

‘‘For example, we learnt that the PDP has identified Ife Central, Ife East, Ife North, Ife South, Olurunda, Iwo, Ifelodun, Osogbo, Odo Otin and Aiyedade as places where they plan to perpetrate massive rigging.”

The party also claimed that two different results have allegedly been written ahead of the elections.

It said, “Three Vice-Chancellors; one from the North Central and two from the South-West have been pencilled in to serve as a returning officer. The   incentive for the returning officer who can announce the doctored results is N1bn.’’

The party said when these plans are put together with the massive deployment of security agencies in the state to harass and intimidate the opposition, “the huge amounts of cash being moved into the state via Armoured Personnel Carriers and the electoral malfeasance specialist-ministers who have landed in Osun, it is clear that the PDP is working hard to ensure that the forthcoming election is anything but free, fair and credible.

It therefore called on INEC not to allow any unscrupulous person to serve as a returning officer for the election.

The electoral umpire, according to the APC, should   pay a special attention to voting in the 10 identified LGAs.

The APC warned, ‘’No one will accept the result of an election in which the returning officer is compromised with filthy lucre. This is why we are calling on INEC to ensure that only a person of integrity can serve in that important post,’’

It said that its agents would not sign any false results of the August 9 election.

The party also called on the international community to pay attention to the issues that could affect the outcome of the election, instead of waiting until the deed had been done.

‘’The biggest danger to Saturday’s election in Osun is the unbridled desperation of the PDP to win at all costs. This explains why the party’s candidate, Mr. Iyiola Omisore, has lied so shamelessly about a purported USAID survey that puts him ahead of Gov. Rauf Aregbesola. But for USAID which quickly put a lie to the peddled story, Mr. Omisore would have continued to use it as a campaign tool,’’ it said.

Source: Punch

Osun poll: Tension rises

Tension has continued to rise between the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party over   Saturday’s governorship poll in Osun State.

On Sunday the APC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, alleged that President Goodluck Jonathan reportedly instructed security agencies to ensure victory for his party by all means.

The APC had   in a statement in which it claimed that the PDP was planning to massively rig the   governorship election in 10 Local Governments Areas in the   state, made veiled reference to Jonathan’s alleged instruction to the security agencies.

When The PUNCH asked him to expatiate on the “reported instruction” by the President, he simply replied, “This is based on credible information we received.”

The APC     listed Ife Central, Ife East, Ife North, Ife South, Olurunda   Iwo, Ifelodun, Osogbo, Odo Otin and Aiyedade as the LGAs the PDP wanted to win at all costs.

It   also claimed that the PDP was seeking a pliable person as a returning officer for the poll.

The APC claimed that three vice-chancellors had been penciled in for the job which would fetch whoever was chosen among them a N1bn compensation.

The party added   that   President Goodluck Jonathan had reportedly told the security agencies that he wanted victory for the PDP   at all costs.

It said, ‘’Nigerians from all walks of life, desirous of a free and fair election on Saturday, are reaching out to us with useful information on the plan by the desperate PDP to rig the forthcoming election. We are taking the information very seriously.

‘‘For example, we learnt that the PDP has identified Ife Central, Ife East, Ife North, Ife South, Olurunda, Iwo, Ifelodun, Osogbo, Odo Otin and Aiyedade as places where they plan to perpetrate massive rigging.”

The party also claimed that two different results have allegedly been written ahead of the elections.

It said, “Three Vice-Chancellors; one from the North Central and two from the South-West have been pencilled in to serve as a returning officer. The   incentive for the returning officer who can announce the doctored results is N1bn.’’

Ebola: US to send 50 experts to West Africa

The US has announced plans to send at least 50 public health experts to West Africa to help fight the worst-ever outbreak of Ebola.

A senior US health official said the outbreak was out of control but insisted it could be stopped.

Ebola has claimed 728 lives in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone this year. The current mortality rate is about 55 per cent.

Meanwhile, an American doctor infected with the virus is improving in hospital after returning to the US from Liberia.

Dr Kent Brantly arrived at a military base in Georgia on Saturday before being driven to Emory University Hospital.

Another infected American, aid worker Nancy Writebol, is expected to arrive in the US soon.

The virus spreads through human contact with a sufferer’s bodily fluids.

Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure.

Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Thomas Frieden, announced the new US measures in an interview with ABC’s This Week.

“We do know how to stop Ebola. It’s old-fashioned plain and simple public health: find the patients, make sure they get treated, find their contacts, track them, educate people, do infection control in hospitals.”

The experts would arrive in West Africa within 30 days to fight what he called the “scary” disease.

He rejected fears that this would put more US citizens in harms way.

“The single most important thing we can do to protect Americans is to stop this disease at the source in Africa” 

he said.

Source: Punch

Ebola: US to send 50 experts to West Africa

The US has announced plans to send at least 50 public health experts to West Africa to help fight the worst-ever outbreak of Ebola.

A senior US health official said the outbreak was out of control but insisted it could be stopped.

Ebola has claimed 728 lives in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone this year. The current mortality rate is about 55 per cent.

Meanwhile, an American doctor infected with the virus is improving in hospital after returning to the US from Liberia.

Dr Kent Brantly arrived at a military base in Georgia on Saturday before being driven to Emory University Hospital.

Another infected American, aid worker Nancy Writebol, is expected to arrive in the US soon.

The virus spreads through human contact with a sufferer’s bodily fluids.

Initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure.

Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Thomas Frieden, announced the new US measures in an interview with ABC’s This Week.

“We do know how to stop Ebola. It’s old-fashioned plain and simple public health: find the patients, make sure they get treated, find their contacts, track them, educate people, do infection control in hospitals.”

The experts would arrive in West Africa within 30 days to fight what he called the “scary” disease.

He rejected fears that this would put more US citizens in harms way.

“The single most important thing we can do to protect Americans is to stop this disease at the source in Africa” 

he said.

Source: Punch

The Time To Say “No More”, By Femi Fani-Kayode

”We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us”- Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel, United Nations General Assembly, 1972.

As it was in 1972 so it is today. All those that love and support Hamas and that hate Israel should read the words of Golda Meir and meditate on them. All those that have condemned the actions of Israel in Gaza should read the words of Golda Meir, meditate on them and live with the fact that, according to a CNN poll, 86 per cent of the Israeli people support the activities and actions of the Israeli Defence Force in Gaza.      

All those that have a soft-spot for the Arabs and the Palestinians should read the words of Golda Meir, meditate on them and appreciate the fact that the threat to Israel is existential.

All those that fail to understand what Hamas really stands for and that do not know that ever since the Gaza strip was handed back to the Palestinians by the Israeli’s in 1994 it has been used as a launching pad for rockets that kill and maim innocent Israeli civilians, women and children should read and meditate on the words of Golda Meir.

All those that believe that violence, carnage, murder and compulsion are a legitimate means of spreading their faith and imposing their will on others should read the words of Golda Meir and meditate on them.

All those that have sympathy for the Haramites in Nigeria and their secret political friends, associates and allies should read the words of Golda Meir and meditate on them.

All those that do not understand that there is a nexus between Hamas, ISIS, Al Nusra, Al Shabaab, Boko Haram, Islamic Jihad, the Taliban, Al Qaeda and all the other vicious islamist, salifist militias throughout the world should read the words of Golda Meir, meditate on them and understand that these terrorist groups

ALL take pleasure in forcing others to slaughter their children by using them as human shields in order to gain sympathy and effect their purpose.

They should also understand that they ALL take delight in killing, abducting, raping, butchering and terrorising the children and wives of others in order to spread their outdated, barbaric, hateful and anachronistic political and religious philosophies.

The other day ISIS ordered that all Christians that reside in the parts of Iraq that they control must either leave the country or convert to islam or be killed. Since then thousands of Christians have been butchered and crucified in public places in that country but the world has remained silent and turned a blind eye to the whole thing.

Today ISIS has ordered that all the women that reside in the parts of Iraq that they control must be subjected to female genital circumcision. Simply put ISIS has ordered that all women that reside in the parts of Iraq that they control must have their clitoris’ cut off. This would deprive them of ANY form of sexual pleasure for the rest of their lives. What could be worse than that?

Yet this is the sort of thing that the Haramites have in mind for the whole of Nigeria and this is what all the jihadist militias that exist throughout the world wish to impose on humanity. Sadly in many parts of the world they seem to be gaining ground and making progress.

It is time to say ”no more” and to stand up to them. It is time to stand shoulder to shoulder with the sons of David and the State Israel and to say ”no” to those that wish to wipe them off the face of the earth and to drive them into the sea.

It is time to say ”no more” to the offspring of Osama Bin Ladin who take pleasure in butchering the innocent and who seek to impose their will on the people of the world. It is time to say ”no more” to the likes of Abubakar Shekau who believe that our little girls should be abducted from their schools, raped from morning till night and from night till morning, sold in the market place like cattle and turned into sex slaves for the rest of their lives.

It is time to say ”no more” to those that slit the throats and drain the blood of our young boys as if they were slitting the throats of sallah rams and christmas turkeys. It is time to say ”no more” to those that torture and maim babies and that hack off the flesh, chop off the limbs and crush the bones of old men and old women.

It is time to say ”no more” to those that show no mercy and have no compassion for the weak, the vulnerable, the young, the aged and the innocent.

It is time to stand with the rest of humanity and with the civilised people of the world against all forms of homicidal, sociopathic, oppressive and deviant behavior and the evil of religious fanaticism and islamic fundamentalism.

It is time to stand up against terror and those that believe in violent jihad and the establishment of a new worldwide islamic caliphate. It is time to stand up against the misogynists in our midst who regard women as nothing but worthless chattel and who take pleasure in sleeping with infants and young children.

It is time to stand up to those that delight in blowing up and maiming others and who honestly believe that that is the only way to heaven. It is time to stop sitting on the fence and to say that enough is enough.

Permit me to enrich this contribution with the words of the beautiful Ayelet Shaked, the Israeli Member of Parliament who is one of the rising stars in Israel’s political firmament. Two weeks ago weeks ago she wrote the following on her Facebook page.

”Behind every terrorist stands dozens of men and women without whom he/she could not engage in terrorism. They are all enemy combatants and their blood shall be on all their heads. Now this also includes the mothers of the martyrs who send them to hell with flowers and kisses. They should follow their sons: nothing would be more just. They should go, as should the physical homes in which they raised the snakes. Otherwise more little snakes will be raised there”.

The harshness of Ayelet’s contribution reflects the thinking of many in the world today who feel a deep sense of outrage about the atrocities of the jihadists and who are simply fed up with the bloodletting and the carnage that hundreds of thousands of innocents are facing at the hands of the terrorists.

Let those that support Hamas, those that call them ”freedom fighters” and those that endorse their evil ways and agenda of terror take a cue from this. If Hamas wants to impress us they should stop hiding behind women and children and they should come out and fight like men.

In the same vein if the Haramites of Nigeria want to impress us they should stop abducting the wives and children of others, they should stop using their own women and children as suicide bombers and they should come out and fight like the fearsome warriors that they claim to be.

Permit me to conclude this write-up with an insightful, profound, intellectually stimulating and historically accurate contribution from Mr. Akin Ajose-Adeogun who is a lawyer and a historian of great repute. On 28th July 2014 on his facebook wall he wrote the following:

“In my opinion, the insidious role of religion in inflaming the Arab-Israeli conflict over Palestine has been underestimated. The truth is that religious bigotry blinds the Arab Muslim majority, and their coreligionists around the world, to the reality that the Middle East is a heterogeneous region of diverse peoples with different faiths, each entitled to self-determination and statehood. Almost 30,000 Jews lived in Palestine – mainly in the Jerusalem area – before the first wave of Zionist immigration in the 1880s, according to the census figures of the Ottoman-Turkish Empire, of which Palestine was then a part (See Prof. Benny Morris’ definitive work, 1948 : The First Arab-Israeli War). The creation of the State of Israel was one of the great events of the 20th century because a profound historic injustice, to a people who have greatly contributed to mankind’s progress, was, after much suffering, finally righted. That this has also, unfortunately, resulted in some injustice and suffering for the Palestinians, cannot substantially be attributed to the emergence of the Jewish State. As we can see, once again, from the events in Gaza today, the primary cause of Palestinian suffering, even during the British Mandate, 1919 – 1948, is the egregious leadership shown by Palestinian leaders. Had there been a healthy response on the part of the Palestinian and Arab leadership to the stimulus provided by the increasing presence of their Semitic cousins in the land that is their joint inheritance, their people would have been far happier and prosperous today”.

Akin has hit the nail on the head and no one could have put it better. Let all those that are still unable to appreciate or fathom the sheer complexity and profound nature of the enormous challenges and very real dangers that the State of Israel is facing from their Arab neighbors consider the words of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, spoken at the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) on August 17th 2006.

He said: ”The truth is that if Israel were to put down their arms, there would be no more Israel. If the Arabs were to put down their arms, their would be peace”. I need say no more.

May the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Lord God of Hosts, the God of the Armies of Israel, the God of Heaven and Earth, the God of all Flesh, the Lord of the Universe, the Ancient of Days, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Man of War, the Lily of the Valley, the Blood of the Sprinkling, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the I Am That I Am, the Rose of Sharon, the Great Provider, the Lamb of God, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord of Mercy and Compassion, the Nazarene, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the El Shaddai, the Adonai, the Elohim, He that is more than able, He that cannot be resisted, He that is high and lifted up and He that is known as Jehova Jireh, Jehova Rapha, Jehova Nissi, Jehova Gibbor: the one true God and the God of the Holy Trinity strike down the Amalekites, deliver us from evil and defend His people and may His counsel alone stand in the affairs of the earth and in the nations of men.

I make these pronouncements in the name of He who died and arose triumphant on the third day, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Son of the Living God.

The Time To Say “No More”, By Femi Fani-Kayode

”We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us”- Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel, United Nations General Assembly, 1972.

As it was in 1972 so it is today. All those that love and support Hamas and that hate Israel should read the words of Golda Meir and meditate on them. All those that have condemned the actions of Israel in Gaza should read the words of Golda Meir, meditate on them and live with the fact that, according to a CNN poll, 86 per cent of the Israeli people support the activities and actions of the Israeli Defence Force in Gaza.      

All those that have a soft-spot for the Arabs and the Palestinians should read the words of Golda Meir, meditate on them and appreciate the fact that the threat to Israel is existential.

All those that fail to understand what Hamas really stands for and that do not know that ever since the Gaza strip was handed back to the Palestinians by the Israeli’s in 1994 it has been used as a launching pad for rockets that kill and maim innocent Israeli civilians, women and children should read and meditate on the words of Golda Meir.

All those that believe that violence, carnage, murder and compulsion are a legitimate means of spreading their faith and imposing their will on others should read the words of Golda Meir and meditate on them.

All those that have sympathy for the Haramites in Nigeria and their secret political friends, associates and allies should read the words of Golda Meir and meditate on them.

All those that do not understand that there is a nexus between Hamas, ISIS, Al Nusra, Al Shabaab, Boko Haram, Islamic Jihad, the Taliban, Al Qaeda and all the other vicious islamist, salifist militias throughout the world should read the words of Golda Meir, meditate on them and understand that these terrorist groups

OSUN POLL: APC alleges PDP rigging plan

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has alerted Nigerians to what it described as a plan involving an official of the  Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwarts to rig Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Osun State.

INEC immediately dismissed the allegation.

The allegation came on a day the APC also said United States Aid Agency (USAID) had contradicted the claim by the PDP that a poll conducted by USAID favoured it to win the Osun poll.

RIGGING PLAN
In a statement in Lagos, yesterday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC said under the alleged plan, an INEC IT staff handed over the electoral register for the state to a special assistant to a top PDP national official, with a view to manipulating it to disenfranchise many voters in the Osun election.
’’For those who may see this as outlandish, they should recall that an INEC official tampered with the voters register used during the last gubernatorial election in Anambra State to remove the names of many voters,’’ the party said.

APC said the plan to tamper with the electoral register for Osun, coupled with INEC’s delay in issuing Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) to registered voters, especially those who are APC members in the state, highlight the desperation of the PDP to win the governorship election at all cost.

’’The truth is that the PDP knows it cannot win a free and fair election in Osun State. Everything so far points to the fact that our party will win by a landslide if the election is free, fair, credible and transparent. In fact, a highly-credible opinion poll carried out by the globally-recognized TNS-RMS shows that the APC leads among voters in the state by 73%, compared to a paltry 19% for the PDP”, it stated.

’’Apparently stunned by the reality on the ground, as against the propaganda by the PDP, the party’s candidate, Iyiola Omisore, quickly conjured his own opinion poll, purportedly carried out by USAID, showing that he is leading the APC candidate and incumbent Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

’’Fortunately, USAID has denied carrying out any opinion poll in Osun State, thus putting a lie to the PDP’s claim. There is no better indication of desperation than this.’’

It called on all the people of Osun and APC members and supporters to be very vigilant in other to thwart the evil machinations of those who are averse to credible and violence-free elections.

’’As we have said repeatedly, we ask for nothing beyond a level-playing field for all the candidates in the Aug. 9 election in Osun State. Also, we want all registered voters to be able to exercise their franchise without hindrance, since popular participation is the bedrock of democracy.

’’If the voting is done in the best tradition of free, fair and credible elections, whoever wins or loses will have no problem accepting the outcome.’’

‘It’s a lie’

USAID poll controversy
In another statement, yesterday, APC said USAID disowned a poll in which PDP’s candidate in the Osun election, Dr Iyiola Omisore, is tipped to win.

The statement by Osun APC Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Barr. Kunle Oyatomi, said: “In a desperate bid to create the impression that its candidate is popular, the PDP told a terrible lie, a couple of days ago that the United States agency had tipped its candidate, Iyiola Omisore, to win the election in a poll that the country’s international agency conducted.

“But the PDP’s lie has been refuted by the Acting Public Affairs Officer of the US Consulate General, Lagos, Rhonda Watson, who said that ‘No USAID poll was taken in Osun”.

Reacting, yesterday, the Director of Media and Strategy of the Omisore Campaign Organisation, Prince Diran Odeyemi, ?accused the APC of an attempt to use the opinion poll as a propaganda.

Odeyemi said?: “An opinion poll is an opinion poll. It is the opinion of some people. The fact on ground is the vote of the people and that is what we rely on. We don’t even want to talk about opinion at all because the whole thing is messed up. It is becoming another propaganda by the APC and we do not want to get involved in it. We are no longer concerned about? any opinion poll because the election is just seven days away.”

He added: The election will be the deciding factor and that is what we are concerned about.”

Source: Vanguard

OSUN POLL: APC alleges PDP rigging plan

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has alerted Nigerians to what it described as a plan involving an official of the  Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwarts to rig Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Osun State.

INEC immediately dismissed the allegation.

The allegation came on a day the APC also said United States Aid Agency (USAID) had contradicted the claim by the PDP that a poll conducted by USAID favoured it to win the Osun poll.

RIGGING PLAN
In a statement in Lagos, yesterday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC said under the alleged plan, an INEC IT staff handed over the electoral register for the state to a special assistant to a top PDP national official, with a view to manipulating it to disenfranchise many voters in the Osun election.
’’For those who may see this as outlandish, they should recall that an INEC official tampered with the voters register used during the last gubernatorial election in Anambra State to remove the names of many voters,’’ the party said.

APC said the plan to tamper with the electoral register for Osun, coupled with INEC’s delay in issuing Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) to registered voters, especially those who are APC members in the state, highlight the desperation of the PDP to win the governorship election at all cost.

’’The truth is that the PDP knows it cannot win a free and fair election in Osun State. Everything so far points to the fact that our party will win by a landslide if the election is free, fair, credible and transparent. In fact, a highly-credible opinion poll carried out by the globally-recognized TNS-RMS shows that the APC leads among voters in the state by 73%, compared to a paltry 19% for the PDP”, it stated.

Nigerians can’t have Jonathan for another term – APC

Ahead of its presidential primary, Nigeria’s biggest opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, has said it will field a presidential candidate that will defeat the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the 2015 election.

The National Publicity Secretary, APC, Lai Mohammed, who stated this in a telephone interview with our correspondents in Abuja on Friday, said Nigerians could not afford another four years of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

He stated that the opposition party would present acceptable candidates for all elective posts, including the President.

Mohammed spoke on the party’s preparations for its primaries.

According to the schedule of activities for the 2015 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission, October 1, 2014 is set aside for it (the commission) to make public the notice of elections.

Political parties are expected to hold their primaries as from October 2, 2014, while campaigns for the positions of the President, the Vice President and membership of the National Assembly are scheduled to begin on November 16, 2014.

November 4 to November 11 is for the collection of forms for all elections by all political parties.

Speaking on the APC’s preparations for the primaries, Mohammed said, “When the time comes, we will make public the date for our primaries, as well as modalities for them. I can assure you that our primaries for all elective offices will be conducted transparently like we have always done.

“I have no doubt in my mind that our party will present acceptable candidates for all elective offices, including that of the President.

“Who eventually emerges as our candidate, will, by the grace of God, defeat this corrupt and incompetent PDP-led administration in a free and fair election.

“You will agree with me that an overwhelming number of Nigerians will not pray for another four years of the present administration.”

When contacted, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Prof. Rufai Alkali, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, described the APC as a party of desperate politicians.

He said the opposition party was trying to divert the attention of the PDP from the Osun State governorship election holding on August 9, 2014.

Alkali said,“As you are aware, the entire PDP machinery came to Osun on Saturday for a grand rally. This is why they are getting more confused and desperate. I advise them to go and face the Osun election. They are desperate. They are trying to divert our attention.

“I want the people of Osun to come out and participate en masse in the election, so that they can remove these desperate politicians.”

SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that the task of reconciling aggrieved members is topmost on the agenda of the APC. This is even as the party has begun fine -tuning its strategies to ensure the emergence of a presidential candidate, which it believes can win the election.

A high ranking member of the party, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in Abuja, on Friday, said the party was conscious of provisions of the Electoral Act, hence, it was not in a hurry to “start campaigns” like the ruling party is doing.

According to the source, the party is taking steps to tidy up minute details to ensure that every member is given a sense of belonging to halt the exodus of members.

The source said, “Our party is methodological in its approach to issues. We have put in place the necessary strategy to ensure success.

“I cannot begin to give you the details of what we are doing but we are working; be rest assured that we will not let down our guard to be taken off guard like what happened in Ekiti.

“Osun will be different; you wait and see. We shall resolve our issues before our primaries, which tentatively, will hold early in October.

“Don’t forget, our consultants are working and they are giving us regular updates about areas we need to improve on. We are dealing with our internal issues and very soon, Nigerians will see a brand new APC.”

SUNDAY PUNCH, however, learnt that as part of its strategy, the party had resolved to pay greater attention to reconciling aggrieved members, while the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led Executive Committee is left to work out modalities for the party’s primaries.

Although an exact date has yet to be fixed, several meeting are being held in Lagos, Kaduna and Abuja, with a view to developing a winning strategy.

This is even as the leadership of the party has expressed confidence that whoever emerges as the party’s flag bearer will have the required broad-based support to dislodge President Jonathan.

Mohammed confirmed to SUNDAY PUNCH that the party had yet to fix a date for the primaries. He explained that the National Executive Council of the party was barely two months old and it needed some time to settle down.

Meanwhile, prospective presidential aspirants jostling for the ticket of the APC have intensified consultations towards actualising their dreams.

Tubtle moves by those jostling for the party’s presidential ticket have continued with renewed vigour.

It was gathered that the leading contenders for the ticket – former Head of State, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (ret.); ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; and Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso – have increased the tempo of their consultations with party supporters.

Although Buhari has yet to make public his ambition (if any), his supporters within the party are insisting that it is him or nothing.

It was learnt that Atiku, also a veteran of presidential contests, is also interested in the race for the ticket.

Kwankwaso is one of the five aggrieved governors who defected from the PDP to the APC; he has since made public his desire to vie for the presidency.

The Kano governor is seen as one of those being looked upon by some northern members of the party who are asking for generational change in the party.

On the choice of APC’s presidential candidate, Mohammed said, “At the moment, the party, like I have told you several times before, has not discussed the issue yet.

“We will cross that bridge when we get there. We will not, however, bar anyone from expressing interest or aspiring for the presidential candidacy. The party is not going to stop anyone from expressing their views, especially when it has to do with a legitimate ambition.

“All I can say is that everything will be done in accordance to our laid down rules and regulations; we will have our party primaries to elect candidates for elective offices from the local, states to the national levels.”

Source: Punch

Nigerians can’t have Jonathan for another term – APC

Ahead of its presidential primary, Nigeria’s biggest opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, has said it will field a presidential candidate that will defeat the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the 2015 election.

The National Publicity Secretary, APC, Lai Mohammed, who stated this in a telephone interview with our correspondents in Abuja on Friday, said Nigerians could not afford another four years of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

He stated that the opposition party would present acceptable candidates for all elective posts, including the President.

Mohammed spoke on the party’s preparations for its primaries.

According to the schedule of activities for the 2015 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission, October 1, 2014 is set aside for it (the commission) to make public the notice of elections.

Political parties are expected to hold their primaries as from October 2, 2014, while campaigns for the positions of the President, the Vice President and membership of the National Assembly are scheduled to begin on November 16, 2014.

November 4 to November 11 is for the collection of forms for all elections by all political parties.

Speaking on the APC’s preparations for the primaries, Mohammed said, “When the time comes, we will make public the date for our primaries, as well as modalities for them. I can assure you that our primaries for all elective offices will be conducted transparently like we have always done.

“I have no doubt in my mind that our party will present acceptable candidates for all elective offices, including that of the President.

“Who eventually emerges as our candidate, will, by the grace of God, defeat this corrupt and incompetent PDP-led administration in a free and fair election.

“You will agree with me that an overwhelming number of Nigerians will not pray for another four years of the present administration.”

When contacted, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Prof. Rufai Alkali, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, described the APC as a party of desperate politicians.

He said the opposition party was trying to divert the attention of the PDP from the Osun State governorship election holding on August 9, 2014.

The rise of female suicide bombing..By ABIMBOLA ADELAKUN

Given the missed chance at assassinating Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) two Wednesdays’ ago, a blitzkrieg of female suicidal bombings, starting Sunday this week, seems intent on compensating for the failure. Except for the Lagos incident where Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, claimed he used a female suicide bomber to set off the explosion, none has claimed responsibility for this emergent phenomenon; maybe, the coordinators are too timid to hoist their flag – yet.

From Borno State where news of terrorists attacks has been regurgitated to the point of banality, to Kano, Kaduna, and Adamawa states, the body count increases. Nigeria has been invaded by a slew of predatory martyrs. And some of them are women in their teenage years.

Whilst pondering the new madness that appears to have made an unrelenting purchase on our national catalogue of theatricalised violence, I note that the ISIS, the new terror of moderate Muslims and liberals who seek an oppression-free society, has tentacles that stretch from the Middle East to parts of Africa and Europe. Their inimitable proxies meanwhile – the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the factions of Libya, Boko Haram and Al-Shabab – have softened the ground for the ISIS triumphant but grim invasion.

Although the map they draw on geopolitical zones of the world is a cause for worry, for now I will rather consign them to the delusional grandeur that propels half-wits to spectacular ruin. Both Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden suffered from a similar megalomania. Presently, I am more worried by the emergence of female predatory martyrs.

Although relatively a novelty in Nigeria, female suicide bombing has existed for years. They are a proof that viciousness has nothing to do with biology. In Russia, Chechnya, Palestine, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, women have successfully carried out suicide bombing attacks showing that they are as much political subjects as men. Yet, I wonder, how is it that females, a disadvantaged collective in many measurable modern ways, became the swords of their tormentors?

To paint a startling picture of the abjectness of Nigeria’s female predatory martyrs, northern Nigeria that is now spawning them is one place these women are accorded the status of a third-class citizen. In June, UNICEF noted that Nigeria has the highest number of children out of school: a staggering 10.5 million!

A higher percentage of this number is from northern Nigeria with more than 60 per cent being females. A year ago, a former CBN governor and now the Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi, lamented that 93 per cent of women in northern Nigeria lack as much as secondary education. On top of this educational drawback, there are social, political and cultural disadvantages that dog the women all their lives. Yet, the toga of suicide bombs is now being added to their drudgery.

What motivates them: anger, hate or revenge? If men are said to be driven by the thought of 72 virgins, (quite an enticing offer for a virile male, really) what then drives the women? Coercion? Brainwashing? Money? I have no doubt that their ideological conversion process was no different from that of the men. Only that they probably never considered that their martyrdom benefits only their coordinators,who will not walk the talk when it comes to women having equal social, cultural and political access with them. How did they overlook their social predicament to accept to be dynamites in the hands of their oppressors?

Yes, and they are motivated by the glory of martyrdom. Women who become human bombs are, seemingly, motivated for the same reason other women want to be in the boardroom: to share power and glory with male counterparts.

As it is, female suicide bombers will likely increase over time. The answer might lie in the combination of biology, and politics.

Females, for one, are seen as less threatening and can therefore bypass places where men cannot. She can carry more explosives on her body by simply pretending she is pregnant and due to some particular religion-based clothing, she can hide more materials. The political angle involves the likelihood of the growth of an army of ‘Black Widows,’ victims of the establishment brutality – from the attacks on Maiduguri in 2007 when there was indiscriminate killing of suspected Boko Haram members by men of the Nigerian state – and have worked up enough anger in them to want to strike back in vengeance.

Female suicide bombing, yet, does little to elevate the woman’s status before the paternal class who runs the terrorist establishments. Watch the same Shekau on video boasting about the kidnap of the Chibok girls; how he threatened to sell them for as little as N2, 000 and even marry them off. In his little mind, they are pieces of household furniture he could just dispose of at will.

Some while ago, Prof. Wole Soyinka, in an op-ed piece titled, “And Now, the Ecumenical City of Jos?”, preemptively suggested recruiting women into the Nigerian Army as combat fighters and even creating a special unit of women fighters to confront Boko Haram. He reasoned that if the group loathes women so much, then training women to fight against it would be waging a battle with it at the level of psyche.

He said, “The women have borne the brunt of Boko Haram hatred, disdain, dehumanisation and primordial viciousness. Survivors of their onslaught, and even those who have not undergone any baptism of fire, but have the ‘fire in their belly’ should be encouraged to teach Boko Haram some gender-free truths of human commitment at the war front and the even more primordial call of human liberation, even at the risk of life…. Even the late Qaddafi refused to trust his most intimate safety net to any but a female praetorian guard. Nor should we forget that female combatants were recorded on both sides during the Nigerian civil war…. Nothing unique therefore is proposed here, and of course we are speaking of strict volunteering only, not conscription.

 The door should be cast open even wider to the gender peers of those whose very presence within the army, even in auxiliary roles, already punctures the warped theology of Boko Haram.”

Now, I think is the time to give the good Prof’s suggestion one more look. Women fighters are nothing new in history. There are historical accounts of how some Ibadan women went to war with men. In one instance, dethroned an Oba. The emergence of female suicide bombers is proof that what a man can do, a woman can do just as well. Let women join the combat against Boko Haram. After all they are already fighting on the side of the enemy.

Source: Punch

The rise of female suicide bombing..By ABIMBOLA ADELAKUN

Given the missed chance at assassinating Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) two Wednesdays’ ago, a blitzkrieg of female suicidal bombings, starting Sunday this week, seems intent on compensating for the failure. Except for the Lagos incident where Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, claimed he used a female suicide bomber to set off the explosion, none has claimed responsibility for this emergent phenomenon; maybe, the coordinators are too timid to hoist their flag – yet.

From Borno State where news of terrorists attacks has been regurgitated to the point of banality, to Kano, Kaduna, and Adamawa states, the body count increases. Nigeria has been invaded by a slew of predatory martyrs. And some of them are women in their teenage years.

Whilst pondering the new madness that appears to have made an unrelenting purchase on our national catalogue of theatricalised violence, I note that the ISIS, the new terror of moderate Muslims and liberals who seek an oppression-free society, has tentacles that stretch from the Middle East to parts of Africa and Europe. Their inimitable proxies meanwhile – the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the factions of Libya, Boko Haram and Al-Shabab – have softened the ground for the ISIS triumphant but grim invasion.

Although the map they draw on geopolitical zones of the world is a cause for worry, for now I will rather consign them to the delusional grandeur that propels half-wits to spectacular ruin. Both Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden suffered from a similar megalomania. Presently, I am more worried by the emergence of female predatory martyrs.

Although relatively a novelty in Nigeria, female suicide bombing has existed for years. They are a proof that viciousness has nothing to do with biology. In Russia, Chechnya, Palestine, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, women have successfully carried out suicide bombing attacks showing that they are as much political subjects as men. Yet, I wonder, how is it that females, a disadvantaged collective in many measurable modern ways, became the swords of their tormentors?

To paint a startling picture of the abjectness of Nigeria’s female predatory martyrs, northern Nigeria that is now spawning them is one place these women are accorded the status of a third-class citizen. In June, UNICEF noted that Nigeria has the highest number of children out of school: a staggering 10.5 million!

Intellect without character

IT was an ingenious and elaborate scheme carefully crafted to defraud thousands of job-seeking Nigerians of millions of Naira. The six suspected fraudsters behind the crime are young Nigerians between the ages of 25 and 27. They are all well- educated and clearly have the talent and creativity to earn a living by decent and legitimate means, even in Nigeria’s admittedly difficult employment climate. Yet, they chose to apply their intellect, time and energy to defraud their fellow citizens and have now fallen foul of the law.

The criminal minds, that have made confessional statements to the Special Fraud Unit (SPU) of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Milverton, Ikoyi, are all products of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA).  They include the suspected ringleader, Oluwapelumi Ayotunde, a 500 level Estate Management student; Asaolu Victor, a graduate of Mining Engineering; Awote Temitope Emax, another 500 level Estate Management student; Emmanuel Onaopemipo Bolatiri, a graduate of the institution who deals in handsets and Adebomi Oluwatosin, a computer graduate who works with Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro, as a Programmer 2.

Clearly the most embarrassing of the lot is Fajobi Olalekan, a Mechanical Engineering student of the institution  with first class honours, who was the best graduating student in his department in 2012, and is currently working with Dee Xecutor Concept.

These brilliant but misguided and depraved youths exploited the plight of at least 2,000 desperate job applicants to criminally enrich themselves to the tune of over N5million. They specialised in designing websites of different companies and using such sites to lure innocent job seekers to apply and pay application fees for non-existing lobs.

The crime was uncovered when the Special Fraud Unit of the police in Lagos received a petition from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countr ies (OPEC) Fund for International Development dated August 22, 2013, alleging that a website designed as OFID Scholarship Website with OFID name and logo was being used to defraud unsuspecting Nigerian applicants.  The victims were required to pay N2,500 as application fee through the First Bank account number 2020814607 and Access Bank account number 005941009, with the fraudulent name OFID WSAS NG.

This sad incident is another poignant reminder of the deep moral quagmire into which our society has sunk. When a society worships at the altar of crass materialism, the end of making money is what matters, no matter how foul the means. In a situation where the most venerated members of society are those who flaunt obscene wealth, even when the source is known to be criminal, there is little or no incentive to seek to earn a living through decent industry and ingenuity. It is thus not surprising that a Fajobi Olalekan with a first class university degree, which suggests brilliance, focus, industry and a capacity for disciplined study, would rather choose the easier, crime-ridden route to wealth acquisition.

Olalekan and his accomplices are unfortunate examples of intellect without character. Yet, the degree of any higher institution is awarded both for learning and character, since the educated individual who lacks moral scruples is a danger to society.

The unsavoury unemployment situation in the country has rendered millions of desperate job seekers vulnerable to the antics of fraudsters and extortionists.  At least 16 applicants lost their lives and scores of others were injured during the recent fraudulent and ineptly organised recruitment exercise into the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS). Hundreds of thousands of applicants were made to pay N1,000 each as application fees for no more than 4,000 job vacancies. Till date, no one has been brought to book for this atrocity and neither are we aware that any money has been refunded to the applicants as directed by President Goodluck Jonathan. Why then won’t other syndicates be emboldened to criminally exploit job seekers?

Source: The Nation

Intellect without character

IT was an ingenious and elaborate scheme carefully crafted to defraud thousands of job-seeking Nigerians of millions of Naira. The six suspected fraudsters behind the crime are young Nigerians between the ages of 25 and 27. They are all well- educated and clearly have the talent and creativity to earn a living by decent and legitimate means, even in Nigeria’s admittedly difficult employment climate. Yet, they chose to apply their intellect, time and energy to defraud their fellow citizens and have now fallen foul of the law.

The criminal minds, that have made confessional statements to the Special Fraud Unit (SPU) of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Milverton, Ikoyi, are all products of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA).  They include the suspected ringleader, Oluwapelumi Ayotunde, a 500 level Estate Management student; Asaolu Victor, a graduate of Mining Engineering; Awote Temitope Emax, another 500 level Estate Management student; Emmanuel Onaopemipo Bolatiri, a graduate of the institution who deals in handsets and Adebomi Oluwatosin, a computer graduate who works with Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro, as a Programmer 2.

Clearly the most embarrassing of the lot is Fajobi Olalekan, a Mechanical Engineering student of the institution  with first class honours, who was the best graduating student in his department in 2012, and is currently working with Dee Xecutor Concept.

These brilliant but misguided and depraved youths exploited the plight of at least 2,000 desperate job applicants to criminally enrich themselves to the tune of over N5million. They specialised in designing websites of different companies and using such sites to lure innocent job seekers to apply and pay application fees for non-existing lobs.